Chapter-1
Valerie Katya’s POV
Sometimes all you want is someone to look at you and say; don't worry, you are not alone. Even if things are hard, we are there for you just to hold you up, even if we can't do anything.
- A.Katyayana
"Hey, hey, are you okay? Let me help you," I stopped running when I saw a little girl falling on the ground while playing.
"Thank you, miss," She blinked at me innocently, making my heart melt.
When was the last time someone smiled at me like this? When was the last time someone talked to me respectfully? I sighed in my mind at my own miseries.
"Hey, Sasha, stay away from her! Don't you know? She is cursed!" One boy in the group shouted, and the girl jerked her hand away from mine, making my smile falter.
"I won't hurt you. Be careful when you run, okay?" I smiled forcefully before hiding my pain and standing.
"Go away, Valerie. We don't want you to cast your evil eye on our kids,"
“Don’t you know to stay away from children? God knows what kind of evil you possess,”
"Don’t forget you are the cursed one,"
"Why do Alpha and Luna even allow her here?"
"So what if she is the beta's daughter? It's about the safety of the whole pack,"
"I know, right? But I heard it's related to how the council backs her up,"
"Well, if the council wants to protect her so much, why don't they take her to their chambers?"
“I know, right? What an eye-sore,”
The whispers started again, and I walked towards the forest with my strained smile.
These were the same whispers, the same words that I have been listening to since I grew up.
I don't know if people will ever treat me normally and not as an outcast or if I will always remain a monster in their eyes.
My name is Valerie Katya. I am the daughter of the beta of the pack.
Usually, any girl of my rank would've enjoyed all the luxuries, but things were different for me.
I was different from others, or should I say, they described me differently from themselves.
According to folks, I am cursed.
No one in the pack knows what this curse is all about. No one apart from my dad, who left the pack a few years ago and hasn't returned since then. However, that doesn’t stop them from talking badly about me.
In fact, since they have no idea what this curse is all about, the rumors about me being a demon's reincarnation or Satan's spawn are the few things that have been circling.
Sometimes the rumors are so weird that they amaze me with their imagination.
Even I am not allowed to speak of it in front of anyone, apart from the person who would fall in love with me, or bad things would start happening. That's what I have been told by my dad, and there is no way in hell I am going to test that theory.
So the beta's daughter, who was supposed to live her life training and serving the pack, was now the biggest outcast. Though my sister enjoys all those benefits of being a beta's daughter. Everyone has high hopes for her, including me.
Beatrice is nothing like me. She is smart and beautiful. If she were born a human, I am sure she would've broken many hearts with her otherworldly appearance. She is like the dream girl of most boys here.
It’s funny how we belong to the same family and bloodline but have different destinies.
Taking a deep breath, I walked further into the forest, thinking about how things would change for me soon.
Tomorrow was a big day for me. Did I mention I was 17 years old and was turning 18 tomorrow?
I was excited.
Not because I was going to find my mate (70% chance), but because I would become of legal age to handle my things myself and probably a legal age for Damian to look at me.
Damian Carter, the Alpha's son, was preparing to take over the alpha's position, and was it just fate that tomorrow was his take-over ceremony too? He was the only person my age who doesn't shy away from talking to me and treated me well.
I have had a major crush on him since our childhood, and he drastically changed in the last year. He became ten times more handsome if anything.
Honestly, I like him a lot.
However, I wasn't a fool to go and confess my undying love to him for him to turn me down. I have seen too many movies to know that someone's sympathy shouldn't be confused with their affection.
Running towards the school so that I don’t get late, I almost got hit by a car, catching me off-guard as I almost fell.
"Valerie," I heard one voice I didn't want when I entered the school.
Damian Carter.
Damn! I was totally a simp in front of him. I took a deep breath to stop the blush from rising to my cheeks.
"Damian," I smiled, trying to stop my fan-girling heart.
"You are almost late. You okay?" He asked, and I nodded.
"Great. I got a call from the council head's son. He wants to meet you tomorrow. I hope there is no problem with the council,"
I could see Damian was struggling to keep it professional, and I didn’t want to make things hard for him.
"Everything is alright. I will let you know if it's something worth worrying about. If it’s all then," I bowed before turning around.
"Wait," Damian said, grabbing my hand, and I widened my eyes when I felt tingles shooting up the area he was holding.
"I know you get a bit awkward, but I hope you can come to talk to me whenever you feel down or are worried. I am not just an Alpha. I am your friend too, right?" he said, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, and I felt heat rising to my cheeks at our proximity.
"I will keep that in mind," I nodded meekly as his hand lingered below my ears.
"You are beautiful. You know that, right?" He asked, and I saw the same desire in his eyes I had seen last time before it was quickly replaced with care.
I can't be just imagining things, right?
"Would you like to come with me to the -" Damian started but was interrupted when my sister made her presence known.
"Valerie, Damian, what are you guys doing?" Beatrice said, and I smiled forcefully.
Way to go, sister. Always interrupting our moment, no?
"Nothing, I was just passing, and Damian wanted to ask if everything was alright with the council," I smiled.
"Why are you worried about her? She is capable of taking care of herself. I mean, everyone is scared of her," Beatrice laughed fakely, and I tried to keep my sadness at bay before she walked to Damian and kissed his lips, making me look away.
'Slut,' My wolf said, and I gritted my teeth in annoyance.
Yes, you can call me that. What kind of person am I, crushing on my sister's boyfriend and thinking about things to happen between us?
'I was calling her a sl*t. Can't you see Valerie? She got together with Damian after she found out you were crushing on him. How can you be so naive all the time? Don’t be so kind. These people don't like you or us. They don’t deserve your kindness. They are just pretending to -'
'I think that's enough. I don't need to hear what anyone is pretending from someone who only added to my misery by not showing up,' I turned around to leave.
'If you cared so much about me, you could've made my life a little easier by changing into the wolf you are,' I scoffed at my wolf before putting up the barrier.
Walking inside the school, I winced when I bumped into someone.
"You! How dare you touch me with your filthy body? Damn! You jinxed my whole day now," The girl's voice was like a cacophony.
"Not now, Gabrielle. I am in no mood for any useless drama," I said, and I was about to turn when she grabbed my hand.
"Don't you dare show me any attitude! Remember your place, b*tch. Last time I checked, you were still the slave of the pack house. Have you not woken up to reality yet? Do you think we are scared of you for real? You are nothing but a cursed b*tch!" Gabrielle spat, and I sighed.
I try to be nice to people, but can they not treat me like a human?
"I woke up to the cruel reality of this world long ago, Gabrielle," I uttered blankly.
"- When I saw your boyfriend banging the new maid," I grinned, earning me a hard slap that jerked my face to the side.
"Well, that doesn't change the reality," I stepped towards her, chuckling mockingly before looking deep into her eyes.
"You don't know the rules, do you? No one slaps me on the face," I said, letting her see my wolf eyes, and she widened her eyes before backing away, looking at others for help, who turned around and left.
Since I never changed into my wolf on my fourteenth birthday, everyone thinks that the reason behind my changing eyes is my curse, and it didn't help that my eyes actually changed into a color that is evil for us werewolves.
My eyes turn reddish golden.
**************************************
The next day(18th birthday)~~~~
"Valerie, is that true?" Beatrice rushed to me while I washed my hands.
Drying them quickly, I turned to her before walking out of the ladies' washroom.
"I am talking to you," She turned me with a jerk.
"I don't know what you are so worked up about," I paused to look into her eyes.
"Don't pretend to be a fool. You know what I am talking about. Did you threaten Gabrielle with your cursed eyes? How many times do I need to tell you to stop doing that and not make my life a living hell?!" Beatrice grabbed my collar before slamming me on the wall, and I looked away with clenched fists to control my emotions.
No. You can't cry, Valerie. No one deserves to see your tears. Not a single person. I told myself before looking back at my sister.
"I know you are hurt and are suffering because of me, but would it be hard to just consider me once? The girl you are talking about slapped me in front of everyone," I tried to make her understand the situation.
"Does it look like I care? You must've done something to deserve that. When the hell will you stop making my life difficult? Why didn't you die in mom’s place? Why did you have to jinx my life like this?" Beatrice growled, and I felt my heart squeezing in pain.
"What did you say?" I asked, hurt.
"I said why don't you just leave me alone and get the hell out of here! Why are you making things difficult for me? Why did you have to be my sister," Beatrice slammed me again into the wall, and I closed my eyes when I saw her lips trembling as her tears threatened to fall before she left hurriedly.
Feeling wetness on my cheeks, I raised my fingers to touch them, looking at my tears in pure anger and sadness. I have told myself I won't cry. Why the hell don't these rogue tears listen to me?!
'Seriously? What a pretentious sister! Was it our fault that -' My wolf started, but I shook my head in pain before walking out of the building.
'Not now, wolfy. I have no heart to listen to your bad-mouthing anyone. Can you let me stay in peace?' I interrupted my wolf before looking up, my gaze meeting Damian, who looked at me with sympathy.
"It's nothing. Don't worry," I said before turning around.
So much for the birthday gift.